


10,000 Meters Under Alternate Timeline

by Puppetmaster13



Series: Mer Universes [2]
Category: Subnautica (Video Game)
Genre: Alien Flora & Fauna, Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe of an Alternate Universe, Angst, Animal Death, Animal Instincts, Animal Traits, Blood and Injury, Cages, Egg Laying, Eggpreg, Eggs, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Gills, I mean, Let Ryley curse, Let Ryley say Fuck, Loneliness, Loss of Humanity, Medical Examination, Medical Procedures, Mentioned Near Death Experiences, Minor Character Death, Morning Sickness, Mpreg, Mutation, Mute Ryley Robinson, Muteness, Non-Explicit, Non-Graphic Violence, Ocean, Other, Planet 4546B, Platonic Cuddling, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Precursors are a little bit of assholes in this, Psychological Trauma, Ryley eats fish soo, Sick Character, Transformation, Trauma, Trust Issues, Vomiting, fish AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-18 12:40:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28992324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Puppetmaster13/pseuds/Puppetmaster13
Summary: An alternate timeline to my story 10,000 Meters Under, because I felt like it.- - - - - - - -Pretty much a what if scenario seeing as every creature on the planet can reproduce asexually.
Relationships: Avery Quinn & Sunbeam Crew, Avery Quinn/Ryley Robinson, Ryley Robinson & Sunbeam Crew, Sunbeam Crew - Relationship
Series: Mer Universes [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1747723
Comments: 9
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

Ryley inwardly groaned as yet another fish got away. He let out an annoyed huff, floating back to the faux sea floor. Another lost meal. The brunette glared at his stomach in annoyance.  _ ‘Stupid fat body…’ _ he inwardly snarked, crawling back towards the center of the containment chamber. Another day of surviving off of lanturn fruit and potatoes. His body normally glided almost effortlessly through the water, but apparently his fat ass had eaten too much (or something), and he was forced to crawl along the seabed a majority of the time. 

Huffing, he waved Orca and Star away towards the tunnel system that went under the island and dragged himself onto land. Several skyrays shrieked in alarm, flapping away in fear. Really there was no need- he was in no shape to chase them. Barring his teeth in a frustrated grimace, Ryley stumbled uphill. It made no sense really- he had gained several pounds at least, yet he was eating far more than he used to. 

It took a bit to even make it up to the freshwater “lake” where he had planted the potatoes. By the time he had made it up, Ryley was much more interested in simply laying in the artificial sunlight. ‘ _ It’s only been three months in this pseudo aquarium and already it’s hell.’ _ Maybe the Precursor-Architect things had put something in the water. Whatever. The brunette curled up into the shallows with a content sigh, (totally not lulled by the warmth of the light on the ground) banishing the thoughts from his mind. 

His auburn eyes slid close and his body relaxed to the surrounding sounds of water and fauna. Ryley didn’t know when he dozed off, but he was awoken (rather rudely in fact) by the uncomfortable squeezing feeling of a warper portal. Letting out a wheezing hiss, he staggered into a crouching position, hiding his sudden dizziness behind a near silent snarl. Both of the precursors stood above him, looking down into the crate-like container he had been teleported into. There was a single blanket-like object folded up in the corner, and not much else inside. 

So Ryley continued to watch the biomechanical centaurs suspiciously. Usually they’d have done something to him by now, but they seemed to be quite enthralled in a quiet conversation. Not taking his eyes from their (mostly) still forms, the fish-man made his way over to the cloth (at least that’s what he assumed it was), finding it to be large enough to curl up like a burrito inside. Which he promptly did so, momentarily ignoring the observing extraterrestrials. A happy wheezing noise escaped him as he laid there, apparently catching his watcher’s attention, as one of them began to gesture at his slumped form animatedly. Thankfully their alien metallic shrieking didn’t get any louder, continuing to be bearable.

He twitched when he was scanned though, frustration blooming. He wasn’t some sort of lab rat, dammit! Not that Ryley could  _ tell _ them that. Instead, he opted to show his frustration through a raspy hiss and a half-hearted swipe, before retreating further into the coverings. Thankfully, the centaur-like beings seemed rather distracted by their conversation, as their voices (for lack of a better term for the metallic whirrs) got slowly more loud and perhaps even excited. 

Ryley sneezed and their discussion paused for a few seconds before once again resuming. He’d have gone to sleep, but he couldn’t lay on his stomach comfortably without the water helping take off some weight. As the container was bone dry without so much as a puddle in sight, he was stuck laying on his side (as the fin along his back also prevented him from laying on his backside). Not that he even got the chance to so much as close his eyes though, as the precursor- with the  _ goddamn gravitational device _ \- plucked him from his spot on the floor. At least the blanket came with, right? 

An annoyed huff escaped the brunette. What was their deal with treating him like an animal? The biomechanical being set him down surprisingly gently onto a table, and held him there. He struggled of course, tail battering against the hands holding him.  _ ‘Let me go you fucker!’ _ Wheezes and hisses exited his torn vocal cords but his claws barely left a scratch on the metallic limbs. _ ‘Let go Goddammi- _ ’ A needle pierced the skin on his back, forcing his body to go lax.  _ ‘Nonononono!’ _ He couldn’t move anything save for his eyes, which darted every which way in a panic. 

Ryley screamed at his body to  _ move _ , to  _ run _ , only to get nothing. His panic rose as more and more instruments were brought over, most of them rather sharp.  _ ‘Stop it- Leave me alone- nononono-’  _ Another prick and he knew no more. 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Consciousness came slowly, and his head felt like it was covered in cobwebs. His eyes felt heavy, and it took several moments for him to register his surroundings. Once it did though, Ryley wheezed in shock. He was back in the containment chamber- on the sloping platform to be exact- but it had apparently been expanded. He could barely see the walls however many thousands of meters away, and that was saying something! Was this the same containment chamber, or had they placed him somewhere else? Was there something else in here? Cautiously, Ryley slipped off the platform, staring into the depths. Thankfully the closer biomes hadn’t changed from the original much, save for going along for longer distances, but that soon changed. Unfamiliar terrain rose up like jagged warning signs before him, dropping off into much deeper waters. 

Gripping onto the seafloor, the brunette opted to stay in the shallower waters- for now. Eventually he would explore, but as it was at the moment, there had been far too many changes in such a short period of time that Ryley was a little overwhelmed. Taking one last glance at the dark waters, he crawled back into the kelp. 

Unlike before, there were several empty caverns not connected to any other tunnels, and much larger than the openings prior to the current aquarium. The brunette pushed away the sand until there was a dip large enough for him to curl up in. Ryley let out a huff. Hopefully the glowy-centauric duo would move the fauna and his pets into here… 


	2. Chapter 2

Ryley gagged as his meal left his body in half digested chunks via his mouth. He was partially curled up in the sand on one of the faux islands- having been only to take a few steps from the water before the nausea hit him like a freight ship.  _ 'Fuck, what did I catch a bug from?' _ He inwardly moaned, washing his face off with water. Try as he might, Ryley had been unable to keep much of anything down. Despite this, his stomach continued to swell as though he was gorging himself on fish. 

Shaking his head, Ryley went over his symptoms. It wasn't the flu- his throat was fine and he had no fever. It could be a stomach bug- but that didn't explain the swelling. He was eating far more than normal, and not able to keep parts of it down. None of the symptoms made any sense! The brunette knew of several diseases that could cause one or two of them, but not all at once!  _ 'Fuck my life!' _ He inwardly cursed, tail lashing in his anger. 

His legs no longer shaky, the fish-man crawled farther inland. Hopefully it would pass soon so he could stop feeling so miserable. Ryley flopped into the shade of a lantern fruit tree with a groan, glaring at the hanging fruits. 

His glare turned towards his stomach when it let out a plantitive gurgle.  _ ‘Yeah, yeah. It’s your own fault that you haven’t been fed…’ _ The brunette inwardly seethed, an annoyed expression crossing his face. Curling his tail closer and stretching out his arms on the warm sand, the survivor’s eyes closed. He might as well get some sleep since he didn’t have to worry about throwing up. It had been a little weird at first- sleeping on his side- but after nearly a month of it, it had stopped being so odd. 

Ryley blearily woke up to the now-familiar tingling feeling of a scanner. With a grumble he blinked open a single eye to indeed see one of the duo standing barely out of reach. Hissing at it, the brunette swiped in their direction, staggering to his feet. It didn’t move, continuing to watch him silently.  _ ‘Fuck off’ _ He shook the dizziness away from his head, claws diggin into the sand. 

He wanted to go back to sleep, but there was no way he’d do that with this thing watching him. 

His stomach did a flip, gaining his attention.  _ ‘You can just shut up!’ _ he inwardly hissed, momentarily glancing away from the annoying alien. Maybe it would leave him alone if he went into the shallow lake nearby. Eh, probably not. Letting out a plantitive rumble, Ryley curled back up. Might as well rest his body if the biomechanical centaur wasn’t leaving. 

Apparently the thing heard his grumblings, as it meandered closer. Which, no thank you, Ryley didn’t want it to come closer. He wanted it to leave goddamnit!  _ ‘Go awwwwaaaay. Let me sleeep,’ _ the brunette inwardly whined. Not that he could actually tell the thing to do so. Joy. The survivor gave a halfhearted swipe with his tail as the precursor came into touching distance. No reaction. Dangit. 

It actually did touch him, running one of their hands across the fin trailing down his tail.  _ That  _ was a weird feeling. He swiped at its arm, baring his teeth in a grimace. Nope-Nope-Nope! He wasn’t dealing with any of this BS today, _ thank you very much _ ! No he didn’t  _ care _ if swiping at it did nothing. He did not want to be touched like some sort of  _ pet _ ! Ryley didn’t remember getting to his hands and feet, or even leaping. It was all a blur as he ran into the waters, an expanse of blue rising up to meet him. 

For a scant few moments he was weightless, flying through the air before he hit the water. The brunette’s stomach did a flip, but he ignored it focusing only on the panic that had gripped his mind. The overwhelming urge to flee, to escape, to  _ hide _ . He shuddered from his place amongst the creepvine. It was unnatural, like his body had moved before his brain could even tell it to. Letting out a deep breath, Ryley tried to calm his racing heart and rolling stomach.

Goddangit, he was back to square one!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter describes Sensory Overload and a Panic Attack briefly.

Ryley eyed the watching aliens suspiciously as he tore into the boomerang. An offering of good will perhaps- or maybe it was drugged. He didn’t know, and couldn’t be bothered to care at the moment. The brunette was back to being in the see-through crate again- had been there for a few hours at least- as the two continued to scan him and take notes of sorts. It was all rather annoying to the fish-man. 

At least they actually gave him food, which as long as he didn’t move too much should stay down. 

Letting out a boredom layden sigh, Ryley laid down, head in his arms. The two centaurs would probably scan him again, and take even more notes. What had them so enamored, he didn’t know. He’d rather be left alone to attempt another escape with Sat and Orca. Actually, he’d rather be able to successfully escape. Oh well, he supposed that this was just another day in his increasingly bizarre life now. 

Curling his tail closer to his abdomen, Ryley closed his eyes. The brunette probably wouldn’t actually sleep, but he could rest his eyes for a few moments. The lab area- wherever it was in the construct- was ridiculously bright to his altered eyes. Even with his pupils practically being slivers of a line. Good thing his captors didn’t decide to dilate them. 

The sound of something flopping, and a scent of blood caused him to open them though. Another fish had appeared in his cell, a cut of some sort across its belly. An injury that it had gotten struggling, or a trap? Eyeing it distastefully, Ryley poked at it sniffing. It didn’t smell off per se, but there was just something that seemed…  _ wrong _ with it. Something unnatural. He didn’t touch it again. 

Ryley winced as the two centaurs began speaking with their metallic whirs. The noise grated on his ears and echoed through his brain painfully. A pained trill escaped him as they continued, the noise growing steadily louder. He curled up as best he could, arms covering his head as best they could and fins dropping downwards in an attempt to prevent it from funneling the noise. The same changes that caused him to adapt so well to the ocean was backfiring in an increasingly disorientating and painful way. 

_ ‘Shut up, please! Just shut up- go back to being quiet!’ _ Ryley inwardly wailed, ears ringing. Maybe changes were still happening- his hearing had  _ never _ been this sensitive before. It took him a solid few moments to even realize that the duo had grown quiet, as the ringing continued on. Something prodded at his side, probably trying to get him to uncurl, but that wasn’t happening any time soon. The brunette’s heart beat wildly in his chest, and the adrenaline coursing through his body caused him to shake. His gills were fluttering, trying to take in non existent water to better keep up with his rapid breaths. Which in turn was trying to keep up with his heartbeat. 

A terrified warble escaped his throat, however raspy. Ryley could idly recognize the feeling of a blanket-like material being placed over him. He clutched at it, trying to ground himself. It worked to an extent. His breathing levelled out slowly and he sank to the ground, silently whimpering. Wait. The floor wasn’t warm, nor did it have changing lights. 

Blearily he came to the horrifying realization that one of the aliens was holding him in its arms. It was horrifically comforting in a way. When was the last time he had any physical contact with really any creature other than a fish? Ryley gave a disgusted shudder at the thought. How long had he been stuck here, unable to communicate with anyone. Sure, there was Orca and Star, but they were unable to communicate back to him. 

His captor’s hold was gentle, though that was no longer a surprise to him. They had no use for him dead. What did confuse the brunette was the fact that it hadn’t put him down yet. Normally they didn’t pick him up with their own arms, if they picked him up at all. So what had changed? It couldn’t be the fact he was feeling under the weather, they were horrified by any sight of disease. Logically if he was sick they’d be avoiding any contact at all. If he wasn’t sick, then why-

Oh. 

_ Oh. _

Pretty much every creature on the planet could reproduce asexually if Ryley remembered right. That included the sea emperor, who was the one who changed him into whatever he was now. Something adapted to the planet like every other creature here. Something so far removed from the human he was born as that he didn’t think he’d ever be able to leave. The bioluminescent parts of him dimmed in his shock and brightened in his rising panic. 

What would he do? There was no way his captors would ever let him leave now. Before, he had chances of escape, lapses in security as he tricked the warpers into thinking he’d given up. 

He silently whined, curling up more into the blanket-thing. The centaur-beings had known the entire time, and suddenly everything clicked into place. The larger cage, the higher security measures, the continuous scans… it all made sense. It would be better in their minds to hold more than one being that held the enzyme, and Ryley had seen how large a sea emperor could be. Surely it would be easier to hold multiple of something his size- however many- however many he would have. 

Holy mother earth, he was going to be a parent. 

_ He was going to be a parent _ . 

Ryley's eyes rolled back in his head and his vision went dark. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ryley Finally figures it out- it took him long enough lol


	4. Chapter 4

Ryley stared down at his abdomen, unsure of what to do. He was back in the large containment chamber, specifically a shallow cave at the base of the center island. It was hidden from the large observation windows, and would work to rest in for a small while. If- if he was going to have  _ offspring _ then he’d have to find a safer spot. One that his captors couldn’t get into easily. 

Orca and Star bumped against his tail, trilling excitedly. Ryley didn’t know how long he was in the lab-room, so he let them make sure it was really him. He sighed, blankly watching as the two cuddlefish twirled in the rising bubbles. What was he going to do? The survivor was still shaken to his core, but he couldn’t afford to simply sit there and mope. He wasn’t just living for himself anymore after all. His tail curled almost protectively against his swollen abdomen, mindful of the growing lives inside. 

Sighing again, Ryley began to meander from the cave, looking for…  _ something _ . What that something was, he didn’t know yet. He just needed to find it. 

His two companions squeaked almost angrily, darting after him as he moved onwards through the creepvine. It needed to be drier. Wait, drier? What needed to be dry? Well, if whatever he was looking for needed to be “drier”, then he should go onto the island. It was the driest spot in the containment cell. And even if it was bigger, it was still a cell designed to keep him here against his will. 

With a single-mindedness he hadn’t had in a while, Ryley clawed his way up the incline and farther inland. Whatever he was looking for must be there. Breathing deeply, the fish-man expelled the water from his gills, now fully on land. Star and Orca chirped from the shallows, but he regretfully couldn’t bring them with him. Wherever he was going anyway. 

He simply wandered the island, unsure of what he was looking for. Everywhere he went just didn’t seem right. Too wet, too hot, too  _ open _ . It just didn’t seem safe. Safe from what he didn’t know, as the warpers prevented anything dangerous from getting inside. 

Ryley clawed a handful of sand into the air in frustration. He had gone across the entire island, but  _ nothing _ . What was truly frustrating was that he didn’t know  _ why _ it made him so frustrated. He wanted to scream, but couldn’t. Hissing out air, the brunette paced along the edge of a cliff. Somewhere there was whatever he was looking for- and he couldn’t find it! 

Swiping a rock over the edge, he watched dispassionately as it soared over the edge, bouncing off of a barely visible outcrop. Wait.

Suddenly more alert, Ryley looked closer. The ledge dipped down as it went out of sight with plants poking from the sand and dirt. He’d seen enough cave openings on the surface to be able to recognize the signs of one- however shallow- anywhere. Looking even closer, he would probably even be able to slip onto said ledge. Was this what he was looking for? 

Lurching downwards, Ryley was pleased to find his suspicion correct. It was mostly hidden by overhanging roots and plants, but there was indeed a cave entrance. A deep one if his eyes didn’t deceive him. Letting out a raspy hum, he crawled deeper. His claws clicked on rock as he went deeper, and deeper, and even deeper. Fins perked, he sniffed the air. The air that had seemed almost musty was beginning to clear, with the tang of saltwater once again became flesh on his tongue. 

His pace picked up slightly, until he was racing on all fours down the winding tunnel as it began to widen. He only slipped to a stop when it opened to a dark cavern. There was a small opening in the far wall, presumably to the rest of the cage. Said opening made a pool of water in a dip, where a couple of fish swam in the calm ripples. Even the rocky floor looked inviting, with patches of sand and mushrooms clinging to life. Flopping onto said sand, he let out a breathless trill. 

This, this was what he had been looking for. It just seemed  _ right _ . It was dry, but still had water, and wasn’t open. There was food, and the cave wasn’t easy for most creatures to get to. It was a safe place to… to what? What did his subconscious want with a place like this? Wracking his brain, Ryley could only come to one conclusion. After all, the sea emperor had mentioned something similar. 

_ This _ …  _ this was the perfect spot to have his children _ . Ryley gave a slight wriggle, of excitement or panic, he couldn’t tell. That was what he was looking for- a place to raise however many children he had. Would he only have one, like a human? Or would he have multiple, like a fish? Would they be live, or would it be eggs? He didn’t know- and if he was honest the potential answers scared him. 

Ryley hadn’t expected to end up a parent when he first set foot on the Aurora. He didn’t expect for any of this to happen actually. He had simply been another lowly maintenance chief- though he could have been easily higher if he hadn’t been so outspoken against most worker’s living conditions. Alterra didn’t exactly like it when someone pointed out potential lawsuits. 

He wondered if anything had changed while he was stuck here. Had anyone noticed the Aurora’s disappearance? Did Alterra even get the distress signal? The aliens had re-armed the gun- would any rescue even make it? Or would the outside become a graveyard for dozens- maybe hundreds of ships? 

Ryley closed his eyes, pushing away those thoughts. He- they’d get out one day. They’d get out and find a way to warn any passerby of the danger. Maybe alter the distress signal… or…  _ something…  _ The fish man lay against the cool sand, body curled around the new lives within. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ryley has begun to accept that he’s probably never leaving the planet, and he’s beginning to accept he’s no longer human in the conventional sense


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something sad happens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: There is death in this chapter

Ryley was crying. 

Tears ran down his cheeks as he curled around several eggs. Many of them were cracked or damaged in some way, as though they had come out too soon. His heart wrenched, shattering into tiny pieces as he tried to  _ somehow _ save them. There was nothing he could do. Five lives were over before they could even get a chance to begin- before they could even see anything outside their tiny prison 

The brunette sobbed, digging into the sand. He dug and dug and dug. He dug until his claws scraped against rock and his hands were numb. He couldn’t be bothered to care. 

He buried his five unborn children, deep enough that even the precursors would be hard-pressed to dig them up. Ryley easily remembered the sea emperor who had been wrenched from an egg, body cut into and experimented on for any secret it might have held. Tears fell onto the sand, mixing with blood from broken claws. The survivor staggered his way to the remaining eggs. 

These ones remained unbroken, the slime dried from his time spent burying their siblings remains. Ryley sobbed again, curling around them in exhaustion. Three. Only three even had a chance to be free. He weeped over them, droplets raining down on pale teal shells. He clutched them close to his chest, as though afraid they too would shatter. Pressing his face closer, he could hear tiny heartbeats, barely audible, but there, and  _ strong _ . They were alive. They were  _ alive _ . 

Ryley hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but his exhaustion had apparently caught up to him at some point. Star and Orca saw that he was awake, and chirped excitedly, only to fall quiet when he didn’t respond. He simply stared at the three eggs his tail was curled around. The fish-man avoided looking at the far side, knowing he’d only see fresh dug dirt. Instead he stayed curled around the survivors, keeping them warm and safe. 

He wouldn’t move for the rest of the day. Or the day after. He only got up once on the third, when a bladderfish got too close to the shallows. Then he didn’t move again. Every once in a while Star or Orca would come in, presumenly to check on him, but they always left back to the illusion of outside. 

The brunette kept silent vigil over his nest. These three would survive- he wouldn’t let another die. Hundreds had been lost on this planet- he wasn’t losing any more. 

So he lay there, unmoving, unflinching, even as the faux sunlight gave way to darkness and back again, over and over. There was enough fish to keep him alive- he wasn’t exactly expending a lot of energy after all- and he needed to make sure his little ones made it. Every second he strained the fins around his ears, listening to each heartbeat. Every hour he adjusted his position so each one of them would get an equal amount of warmth. Every minute he made as close of an attempt towards speaking to them as he was able to. 

At the end of the first week, one of the captors appeared within the cave. 

Ryley hissed, his fins flaring out and his teeth bared as the centauric being stepped closer. His heart was hammering in his chest, pounding against his ribs as though it was trying to escape. He couldn’t-  _ wouldn’t _ let them take his little ones. The mer was crouched over the nest he had constructed from plant fibers, blocking the teal speckled eggs from sight. ‘ _ Go away! Back off! I’m fucking warning you- not another step closer!’ _ It didn’t matter if he was unable to say these things to his captor- he could still show it. 

It seemed wary about approaching him, which was odd. Normally they had no qualms about his threatening behavior- ignore any sign of his distress really. He silently crouched closer to the ground, fully covering the dip in the sand warilly. What the thing was doing here when they had left him alone for the last month or so, Ryley didn’t know. Actually, he didn’t  _ want _ to know, but he had a guess. 

Ryley felt almost sick as it made its way around him, closer to the upturned sand and dirt.  _ ‘Get away from them- leave them alone!’ _ He couldn’t leave the unbroken eggs unprotected though. Who knew what his captors would do with them? So as much as it pained him, Ryley turned away. He had to protect those that were given a chance at life, as much as it broke his heart to leave the remains for the centauric duo to do with as they wished. 

The brunette avoided looking as the empty shells were dug up and removed. He… he had to watch over his three survivors. He had to make sure they were safe and would hatch. He had to- 

The microscopic hairs on his neck stood up, and the tip of his tail twitched. It was watching him, watching him like he was some sort of exotic animal. He hated it. He hated both of them. 

His captor didn’t stay long, disappearing as suddenly as it had arrived. Ryley was thankful to be left alone. He took the chance to once again adjust his position over the nest, checking each heartbeat as he went. All three were still as strong as before. Good. The fish-man curled around them once more, reassured of the lives within. 

When he was visited by one of them next, it was when he was grabbing a fish. Ryley had panicked, swallowing the fish whole as he raced back over to his nest. The brunette had practically thrown himself on top of the trio of eggs, even with one of his captors being close enough to touch. He wasn’t going to leave them exposed in the presence of the hated being,  _ especially _ with it being so close. 

His lights flared in his fury, lighting up the cave with aquamarine light. The biomechanical creature simply tilted its head, as though puzzled by his actions. Ryley didn’t care though, raspilly hissing at it and curling his tail protectively around his clutch. 

Its head tilted in the other direction, a mechanical whir coming from its chest. Was it trying to speak to him? 

He didn’t care if it was. He just wanted it to leave all four of them alone. He wished they had never woken up, that they had never even found him. He wished he was free, free from both the company he- like so many others- had been forced to work for to live, and the alien beings who now held him caged. And it was a cage, no matter how hard they tried to hide it. He wanted to see the sun- the real sun, and to show it to his little ones. He wanted to be able to swim in the open ocean again, to see the awe-inspiring world at its fullest. And he couldn’t. He was stuck here, and he may be for the rest of his life. 

Was this what the sea emperor had felt, for all those years? Had she too yearned to feel the wind against her face and see the ocean bloom? Had she yearned to simply watch as the sun set and rise and set again? 

Ryley silently whined, curling fully around his eggs. Would they ever leave him alone, or would they watch his every action forever? He didn’t want that for anyone- but especially not his children. 

The biomechanical centaur took a step closer, as though it was confused by his reaction. Did they not have offspring or something? Wait, that wouldn’t make any sense. He let out a wheeze, eyeing his observer. They had gotten even closer, towering over his prone form. If it decided to use a stasis field, there was nothing he could do. Antagonizing it wouldn’t be smart. So, Ryley only swiped at it  _ once _ . It wasn’t like he could do any damage to the exoskeleton anyway. Besides, it was getting far too close to the nest in his humble opinion. 

Like every other time he took a swipe at it, the alien didn’t react. It was probably expecting it, the bastard. 

It was probably waiting for him to move- which was too bad. He wasn’t leaving the nest while either of his captors were present. Ryley didn’t like them, he didn’t trust them- did he mention he didn’t like them? He liked the smaller one marginally better, as it didn’t use the damned gravitational device on him,  _ yet _ . 

Silently grumbling at the thing, the fish-man got ready to lay there for a while. At least he actually had food in his stomach this time. Joy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor poor Ryley


	6. Chapter 6

Ryley felt exhausted. The two kept appearing one at a time methodically, causing him to lose sleep. What was he to do when the moment he made to get up, they were there? He was tired and hungry, and maybe,  _ maybe _ a little dehydrated, but that was  _ alright _ . That was  _ okay _ . It’s not like he needed that kind of stuff to  _ live _ . 

The brunette shook his head, sand flying from his hair. He was absolutely exhausted, fighting to keep his eyes open every second. He wanted to close his eyes so much, if only for a few moments. He wanted to just get a small bit of rest, just a few moments to close his eyes without any worries. 

He let out a raspy hiss in frustration as one of his captors appeared at the edge of his vision once more.  _ ‘Leave us alone, dangit!’ _ They wouldn’t though. They would never leave him or his offspring alone. They’d keep them here for eternity given the chance. 

Wheezing in frustration, he once again adjusted his position. Ryley’s limbs were beginning to go numb from his minimal movement, and his hair had gotten ridiculously long. He hadn’t had a chance to cut it with the constant appearances of his captors. Hell, he hadn’t even gotten to comb it! Why would he though, when he hadn’t even been given the chance to get food? What was their end goal- were they showing him he was expendable now that they had more?

Ryley silently snarled, burgundy eyes glaring at the marginally closer centaur.  _ ‘Take another step and I’ll find a way to break that ugly face of yours- I swear!’ _ He wasn’t in the best of moods and the sleep deprivation wasn’t helping with that. The fish-man was tired, angry, scared, and hungry- not in that order. 

Grumbling, he curled his tail closer and lowered his head. If it wasn’t going to leave any time soon- which he would be much happier if it  _ did  _ leave- then he was going to be stuck not moving for a while.  _ ‘Stupid aliens, stupid cage, stupid teleportation, stupid technological bullshit,’ _ he inwardly mumbled indignantly. The last of the Aurora survivors just wanted for it to leave so he could eat and catch a few minutes of rest. Actually, an hour or so would be  _ lovely _ . 

Ryley inwardly swore like a sailor. Outwardly he snarled, hissed, and screeched as best he could. His captors had taken him from his cave- thankfully with his eggs- but  _ still _ . They had taken him to the lab-room-thing which was  _ bright _ and  _ open _ and  _ not safe _ for any of them. So he made his displeasure known the only way he could. He stayed crouched over his unborn offspring, displacing several clouds of sand with his lashing tail. 

Thankfully, they seemed to have  _ some _ idea of what was wrong, and covered half of the crate with a dark cloth-like object. His senses stopped going as haywire, and the brunette could take several slow breaths to calm himself further.  _ ‘Dammit,’ _ Ryley was going to keel over from either exhaustion, dehydration, starvation, or maybe even all three. His limbs were shaking, and he swore he had lost several pounds off his body. Still, he wouldn’t leave the three eggs unguarded. 

Shuddering, he eased himself down, once more curling around his children. It helped his quivering body a little, but he was still missing several nutrients and liquids. Wheezing, he closed his eyes. Maybe they’d let him sleep  _ now _ ? 

. . .

Well, they didn’t let him sleep, but there was a container of water and a few fish before him now, so… Before he even realized that he had moved, Ryley was tearing into the dying hoop fish. Bones crunched under his teeth, and the blood welling up was like the best thing he had ever tasted. It might as well have been, with however long he had gone without eating. His tail stayed partially curled around his nest, but his bioluminescence still glittered almost happily. 

The fresh water tasted just as amazing as the food did, like his entire body was being revitalized. Now he only had the heaviness of sleep weighing him down, and not aching pains of hunger. Almost lazilly, as though he had no care in the world- which was very much  _ not _ true- Ryley curled back up onto the nest. He yawned once- twice- and closed his eyes. See, this is why he didn’t hate the smaller one as much. Letting out an almost thoughtful rumble, the brunette slipped off into the realm of sleep, wondering if perhaps the fish had been drugged or something.

He never did find out why they moved him into the room for that little bit, as he woke back up in the cave. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, the baby mers arrive!


End file.
